News
For now, a farewell and some reflections on the state of cryptocurrencies
Good Friday. It’s been almost two years since we relaunched the Fortune Crypto newsletter, giving it a new name and switching to a daily format. And what a two years it has been. Our daily news began with the last hurray of a previous cryptocurrency bubble, which turned into a crisis and then into a full-blown catastrophe when the biggest names in the industry—Celsius, BlockFi, FTXThree Arrows: collapsed into bankruptcy and scandal.
In late 2022, I was tempted to change the name of the newsletter to Fortune Crime as those once hailed as visionaries were exposed as thieves and con men and sent to prison. The high point (or perhaps low point) of this era was the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, so ably covered by Leo and Ben Weiss. My favorite memory of this time was being harangued by a failing PR firm that objected to my calling the Bankman-Fried clan.”shabby” and insisting that they are “very nice people.” At least some people think so.
By mid-2023, the industry was in the midst of Crypto Winter, when even many longtime proponents were quietly wondering if it was time to abandon this blockchain-for-AI thing. And then, lo and behold, everything changed again. As it has three times before, the cryptocurrency industry is back bigger and richer than ever, turbo-charged by an influx of Wall Street capital and the launch of Bitcoin ETFs. Somewhere along the way, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and other cryptocurrency OGs who long shunned the ways of Washington, D.C., learned to play along with him and are now a fearsome political force.
It’s been an incredible ride. Throughout it all, I’ve maintained the same passion for cryptocurrency as when I first encountered it in Manhattan’s Union Square Park in 2013, when the best way to get Bitcoin was to buy it at open-air markets. I still appreciate the technological ingenuity, the over-the-top meme culture, and most of all, the wild cast of characters the industry continues to spawn. Whatever you think of cryptocurrency, it’s a lot more fun to cover than conventional industries like pharmaceuticals or insurance.
It’s also been a pleasure for Leo and I to have such a smart collection of readers, many of whom have taken the time to write in with praise, suggestions, and, yes, a few torrents of profane insults. We wouldn’t have it any other way. The thing about daily newsletters, though, is that they’re a demanding commitment, requiring me to find a new angle every single day and spend many nights searching for ideas. To that end, we’ll be shutting down the newsletter for now to recharge and do more original reporting on the biggest stories in cryptocurrency. Thank you all for reading. Feel free to contact me with suggestions and ideas starting in mid-July, after I get back from a much-needed vacation.
The story continues
Dr. Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com